An Inclination
by Wildespeaks
Summary: Set after 'Lacking Emotion'. Dex is left alone in the hangar while the infamous Sky Captain is out on the town, leaving the poor mechanic to his own devices. Joe x Dex


**Summary:** Joe's been out all night on the town after another successful mission while Dex is back at the base, alone with his thoughts.

**A/N:** I love this pairing and it appears that a few of us are trying to pump back some life into the Sky Captain section. Hopefully I may be able to assist. Please read and review kindly, if at all.

**Warning:** This is a slash fiction between Cap'n Joe and Dex, so, if you're not into two men liking each other, please exit the fanfiction. I wouldn't like a review saying 'I hate blah blah blah, etc.' just as much as you don't like slash pairings like these, so let's both just go our separate ways and get on with the show.

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Chew, smack, pop.

Chew, smack, pop.

The mantra that currently echoed throughout the hangar as its sole occupant sat, working on one of the world's best aircrafts since the Wright Brothers first took flight. Chew, smack, pop. The song that Dex's gum sang as he chewed it regularly, signifying that the grimy creature that sat staring glumly at the plane was indeed the young genius. Chew, smack….Dex paused, his monotonous melody halting as his mouth stretched into a wide yawn, his gum falling from his mouth unnoticed.

"Gee whiz, Cap'n….of all the night's to go out on, you had to pick this one? When I haven't got the right parts in for my newest invention? When I don't have anything to work on? When I can't start thinking about planes because all I'm thinking about is what floozy you're going to bring back to the base to show a good time-?" Dex cut himself off, stopping as he noticed the subtle clenching of his fists, his nails making it a point to dig into his skin. It was then that he finally noticed his gum lying on the concrete ground below him, causing him to pause in his angry thoughts of his Captain to try and construct a plan for how he was going to get a new piece of gum. Dex's brow furrowed as he stared at the offending piece of pink that had run out of its flavor and had escaped from his mouth at the first chance it got.

"Traitor." Dex mumbled, standing up and brushing his dust covered jump suit off, not caring that all he did was get more oil on his hands. He had been tuning up the 'Polly', or the 'nosy reporter', as Dex liked to call it, before he had realized he'd run out of things to fix on the aircraft. He'd literally fixed everything in one night; one night that the Captain wasn't there. Again, Dex cut himself off from his own thoughts before giving the gum one last glare and stalking off to his office to get another pack of gum. Then, maybe afterwards, he'd throw himself onto his cot and sleep away all of his fury at the supposedly 'committed' Sky Captain.

Admittedly, Dex understood that Joe had an appearance to keep up, but he didn't have to bring them back to his apartment. Hell, he didn't need to bring them to the base either! They had top secret stuff here, for Christ's sake! Huffing in annoyance, Dex continued his forward advanced towards his office, only to stop abruptly as he heard a _very_ _familiar _giggle from Joe's office. Dex's whole body froze for a matter of seconds, his heart beat racing as he quietly stood stalk still, waiting for the woman to speak.

"_I was beginning to worry, Joe, that you didn't want to see me again."_

"_You know me, Polly, always working." _

_**POLLY.**_

The name of the aircraft he'd been working on, the bane of the mechanic's existence and supposedly the Captain's too, and the nosiest reporter since-well, since ever! Dex's anger returned full force, muscles from all those years of loyally working by Joe's side tensing as his body went into offensive mode. He stayed still like that for what seemed like ages, until he heard laughing from inside the room and his body deflated, the anger flowing out of him like blood would a wound. They started to talk again, inside the room, but Dex didn't want to hear any of it.

'I'm sure they're laughing about something only the two of them know about. Some adventure that the 'Good boy' Dex doesn't get to know about.' Never had Dex been so jealous of Polly Perkins in his life; he hadn't needed to early in his and Joe's relationship. The Sky Captain had been nothing but an adamant lover; never letting Dex want for anything. These days, however, he'd taken to going out on the town, just like he used to do before they'd gotten together after the Totenkopf incident. Now, to top it all off, Joe was back with Polly Perkins, the buxom blonde that Joe had cleverly named his plane after. The one that Dex had been working all night to fix up for the Captain so that he'd be ready for his mission tomorrow, so that he wouldn't have something happen like the Manchurian death camp incident.

The sudden urge to go destroy the plane hit him like a ton of bricks, nearly knocking him backwards and away from his office's door, which he had absent mindedly walked to. His hand gently grasped the doorknob and twisted, just as the door to the Sky Captain's office next to his opened to reveal none other than the blonde bombshell Polly Perkins looking…_perkier_ than ever.

"Goodnight Dex!" She called to him, no hint of malice, no hint of her knowing that she'd helped the man he loved to break his trust, just the usual oblivious at times Polly.

"'Night, Polly!" Dex gave her his best lopsided grin, trying his best to cover up the pain that her being there caused him. She waved politely in response, which he returned, before click-clacking off to wherever people as perky as Polly spent their nights.

"Dex?" Joe called from his office, surprise evident in his voice as if floated out through the still open doorway.

"'Night Cap'n." Dex called, opening his office door quickly and shutting it, his search for his gum automatically becoming the forefront problem in his mind.

'No, best not to think of anything other than the gum, Dex.' Repeated itself in his mind before his oil covered, shaking hands found the wrapper of a piece of gum. Quickly he made his way to his cot, throwing himself on it in his haste to be at rest, his quivering hands depositing the newly unwrapped piece of gum into his mouth.

Chew, smack, pop. Chew, smack, pop.

"Dex?" There was a soft knocking at the door.

Chew, smack, pop.

"Dex, she just wanted to know what my next mission was. I promise." Joe again.

Chew, smack, pop.

"Please Dex, may I come in?"

Chew—Dex paused for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that night.

"Sure, Cap'n." Somehow Dex's voice handed wavered as he spoke. Joe immediately let himself in, barely managing to close the door behind him before he was at Dex's side, brushing the mechanic's tears he hadn't noticed he'd been crying away.

"I'm so sorry Dex. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I love you so much. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again." Joe repeated over and over, like Dex's own mantra from earlier, before the Sky Captain lay down beside the mechanic and held him. He continued to apologize, asking, pleading for Dex's forgiveness.

Dex hesitated a moment, but only a moment, to head his last 'Chew, smack, pop' before turning so that he could be held by his Sky Captain.

"Please Dex, forgive me, again?"

And like all the other times before, Dex was inclined to forgive him.

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Thank you for reading.

Please review kindly, if at all!

-Aimze


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